Hey guys, just visited American University in D.C. I fell in love with it. The internships oppurtunities and overall vibe- really nice place. Can y’all tell me my chances of acceptance/merit scholarships for AU? This is my dream school but it is super expensive. Will be applying reg. Any chance they give me aid?
GPA- 3.65(UW) 4.01(W)
ACT-32
Debate President(4 years)
VP model UN(4 years)
VP NHS(2 years)
Interned for the Chris Koster Gubernatorial campaign
Interned for Trams Law Offices LLC
Debate Nationals Qualifier 2016
Missouri State History Bowl Champion for Geography Bee 2016
Assistant Coach for debate at a New York High school
Your GPA is exactly average for admitted students, but at the bottom end of the middle 50%, and your ACT is just about the 70% mark. American says that they especially care about the rigor of your HS curriculum, your GPA and interest in the school; they are less interested in standardized testing. Obviously, not being on the AdComm, not knowing who else is applying, not seeing your recs or essays, nobody here can really ‘chance’ you, but I wouldn’t think it was unrealistic for you to get in.
However, of the ~2K admitted students, only 173 got non-need based (ie, merit) aid, averaging $16,787 (against $61K COA). As you are way out of the top 25% stats-wise, I would not count on getting merit aid.
If you are eligible for financial aid, nearly half the class got some amount of finaid- averaging $27,104 in aid (with another $5K in ‘self-help’).
So before you spend any more time falling ‘in love’ with this university go do a serious run at the Net Price Calculator (NPC) and be sure that you can afford it if you get in. It doesn’t matter how much you love something if it doesn’t love you back.
When it comes to rigor I have taken 5 AP courses and by the time all is said and done I will have taken 10 APs along with 14 AP exams
Do I have a better chance of getting good money if I apply early?
Probably not. Financial aid money is given on the basis of need and Merit aid is given to attract students that they want but might not come otherwise (incentive/bribe, po-tay-to/po-tah-to. Typically merit money goes to applicants whose stats are well in the top 25% of admitted students.
If your weighted GPA is calculated by your school on a 5.0 scale then AU will use you weighted GPA. If it is calculated on anything else they use the unweighted. We learned this during our admissions visit from one of the Admissions Counselors. So that would put you in a much better position to gain merit. Please note that FDS which is highly competitive is the only full scholarship. As an AU Honors Scholar you receive $30,000 - also highly competitive. Other Merit awarded falls between $6,000 - $20,000. I believe the AU calculator asks for academic information that they use to give you an estimate. Please run that NPC as suggested by collegemom3717.
I have to say I’m a little confused by your stats such as 4 years as Debate President? Do you mean you are Debate President for next year and will have participated for 4 years? Are you taking AP exams more than once to reach the 14 exams?
If it’s your top school, I would recommend applying early decision! They accepted around 80% of their students this year from ED I and ED II. I have somewhat similar stats to you (you can check my profile if you’d like more specifics) and still managed to get in regular decision. If you want to be on the safe side, apply ED and make sure to fill out the CSS in addition to the FASFA!
3 years of debate. Next year as president. I am not retaking an AP exams